Vol 3 August - Great Lakes Leadership Academy - Michigan State ...

TechTimes
Monthly Journal of Information Technology
ISSUE 03 August 2011
GLLA 2011 Alumni Event‐September 21, Lansing
What is on the agenda for the 2011 Alumni Event? The day will begin with
a panel discussion of state agency directors. The panel participants will include
Keith Creagh, Michigan Department of Agriculture, Dan Wyant, Michigan De‐
partment of Environmental Quality, Rodney Stokes, Michigan Department of
Natural Resources and Cynthia Kelly, Michigan Department of Community
Health. The panel discussion will provide insight on how NGO’s and special in‐
terest groups influence the policy making process including examples of how
state government is partnering with the private sector to accomplish goals for
the common good.
Henry McClendon, Jr. from The Skillman Foundation will speak at lunch
about collaborative leadership, civic engagement, and how these concepts are
positively impacting the renewal of Detroit.
Continued Page 2
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Alumni Event– 1 & 2
Legislative Reception—2
MALP Reunion—2
Rita Klavinski—3 & 4
Michael Everett—3
LAP Detroit Session—4 & 5
Upcoming Events— 5

MALP Reunion
Former MALP participants met for an educational and reflective week‐
end in Lansing this winter
There are many ways for alumni
to stay connected and continue to
explore GLLA topics. Participants of
Michigan Agricultural Leadership
Program, the precursor program to
GLLA, still hold annual reunions
around the state. These gatherings
allow the participants and their
spouses to touch base with one an‐
other and continue to stay con‐
nected as a group. This year
Brigette Leach orchestrated a reun‐
ion for her class in Lansing.
The 27 month long Michigan
Agricultural Leadership Program
was held in the 1980s and engaged
participants with learning about
themselves, their communities and
their government. Brigette’s group
held sessions in Lansing and several
other Michigan locations including
a week in Detroit. They visited
Washington DC and California for
their domestic travel experience.
Their international travel experi‐
ence was to Austria, Yugoslavia, It‐
aly and Spain. Issues covered were
not limited to agriculture, and in‐
cluded political science, economics
and international issues. In the
spirit of these learning experiences,
the reunions always include tours
and speakers that keep alumni up
to speed with local and state wide
issues.
Of the 30 original participants,
14 members and their spouses at‐
tended the weekend‐long reunion.
The group toured the Michigan
Farm Bureau Family of Companies
offices with President Wayne Wood
as their host. They also heard from
several speakers: Scott Corrin of
Michigan Food and Farming Sys‐
tems, Dru Montri of Michigan Farm‐
ers Market Association and John
Deyo, #71 of the Michigan State
University Football team and for‐
mer 4‐H Beef Barn kids participant.
The reunions help the group
support each other through the
challenges and triumphs of both
their professional and personal
lives. “Over the years we've learned
to share our joys and sorrows, chal‐
lenges and triumphs, including the
passing of group members. We've
shared births and deaths, illnesses,
marriages and divorces, retirement
for some and career changes for
others,” says Leach.
See photo on pg. 5.
Alumni Event Continued
In the afternoon, Diane
Byrum will facilitate the tell‐
ing of “stories” from previous
GLLA Issues Teams and re‐
lated policy discussion. Three
previous issues teams will
briefly present their work,
tell the story of what their
issues team studied and con‐
cluded, and how their issues
have developed or are devel‐
oping since their GLLA
graduation. The topics of the
issues teams are rail trans‐
portation (specifically high
speed passenger rail) and
alternative energy. The 2011
GLLA Alumni event will be at
the Radisson Hotel in Lansing
on September 21, 2011 from
9 am to 3:00 pm.
Legislative and Stakeholder
Reception
To conclude the day we
will adjourn to the Capitol
Rotunda for a Legislative and
Stakeholder Reception from
4‐5:30 PM. Governor Rick
Snyder has been invited.

Crossing Borders, Enhancing Food Systems
As a member of the Food Policy Work Team
in the 2007‐08 GLLA Leadership Advance‐
ment Program, Rita Klavinski put her learn‐
ing into practice during a three month study
project this past winter where she devel‐
oped content expertise that focused on nu‐
trition and physical activity and community
food systems specifically related to con‐
sumption of locally grown foods and prod‐
ucts.
Because of organizational restructuring, Rita
transitioned into a programming role last
summer with her employer, Michigan State
University Extension (MSUE). In this new
position, Rita has a dual assignment with
the MSUE ‐ Nutrition and Physical Activity
and Community Food Systems work teams.
Rita identified the following goals for her
three month project:
Participate in site visits, workshops and
conferences related to food and life‐
style choices
Research how local foods can be incor‐
porated into community food systems
including site visits, workshops and con‐
ferences
Research best practice models/
agriculture, either at the family level or
the community level.
curriculum that teaches people how
While in India, Rita resided at University
to prepare/cook wholesome foods
of Delhi ‐ Lady Irwin College in Delhi. Her
with an emphasis on fruits, vegeta‐
itinerary included:
bles and whole grains.
Participate in cooking classes/schools Visiting and interviewing nutrition
in a variety of locations in southern faculty and attending classes
Michigan
Studying the Indian diet – looking at
To further enhance her study Rita in‐
the use of wholesome food products
cluded a four week international experi‐
and cooking techniques for food
ence and travelled to India for the month
preparation.
of March. India was selected because it
Continued on p 4
has a long his‐
tory of healthful Rita is pictured with a street food vendor near Khan Market in
diets using ba‐
sic, sometimes
primitive cook‐
ing techniques
and is especially
strong in bring‐
ing women into
home industries
to improve the
family’s diet and
economics.
Many of their
projects involve
value‐ added
New Delhi, India with a dish of Dahi Bhalla.
Michael Everett: Graduate Student
Award Recipient
Congratulations to Michael Everett, a 2009‐10 LAP graduate, for
receiving the 2010‐11 CANR Excellence in Teaching: Graduate Stu‐
dent Award. The Department of Community, Agriculture, Recrea‐
tion and Resource Studies selected Michael based on his out‐
standing commitment and dedication to student and to teaching
and learning. Michael was recognized at the CANR Spring
Graduation Ceremony for undergraduates in May. It is exciting to
acknowledge Michael for receiving this prestigious award.

LAP visits Detroit
What do you hope for the future of
Detroit? Detroit will never be the
industrial superpower it once was,
but that does not mean that all is
lost for Michigan’s largest city. The
Leadership Advancement Program
cohort spent an engaging three day
session in Detroit to learn more
about both the issues that face the
city and examples of positive leader‐
ship from Detroit community lead‐
ers.
The cohort visited the Henry Ford
Rouge Plant where they got an in
depth look at the innovative green
revitalization efforts of the infa‐
mous plant. Among these innova‐
tions is the “green roof,” which ef‐
fectively turns the roof into a 10.4
acre vegetated mat. The plants col‐
lect and filter storm water run‐off
while reducing heating and cooling
costs by 5%.
The bus tours showcased the di‐
verse communities within Detroit.
Members of the cohort and speak‐
ers from Detroit added a rich per‐
spective to the tours. Panel discus‐
sions with community leaders also
helped engage the group in under‐
standing environmental, economic,
and social matters from a Detroit
perspective. Cont. pg. 5
Rita Klavinski continued
The time spent in India provided
first hand experiences on how
wholesome food preparation can
address many of the issues re‐
lated to lifestyle diseases. In
Rita’s opinion, over the years
American diets have dramatically
shifted away from whole foods
to processed foods. People have
become accustomed to purchas‐
ing and using processed foods
and struggle to prepare whole‐
some foods and to eat a health‐
ier diet. Many individuals want
to learn how to prepare food in a
more natural state and also have
a desire to use locally grown
products and support local grow‐
ers. Rita was able to observe
first‐hand how Indian families
and institutions use basic whole‐
some food to meet the nutri‐
tional needs of millions of peo‐
ple. This project allowed Rita to
have a concentrated period of
time to research best practice
models/curriculum that teaches
people how to prepare/cook
wholesome foods with an em‐
phasis on fruits, vegetables and
whole grains. She is sharing her
experiences and developing ma‐
terials to use to teach whole‐
some food preparation and the
importance of incorporating lo‐
cally grown foods with members
of the Nutrition and Physical Ac‐
tivity and Community Food Sys‐
tems work teams through Michi‐
gan State University Extension.
Rita’s experience as a member of
the GLLA Food Policy Team in
2008 provided the insight to en‐
courage her to pursue this work
assignment with MSUE that in‐
cluded both a nutrition and food
systems focus.

LAP Detroit Session Continued
Gleaners Community Food Bank
was the location for a Detroit
Community Leaders Dinner, pre‐
pared by the chef from the Capu‐
chin Soup Kitchen. The GLLA co‐
hort hosted over fifty Detroit
leaders and heard stories of suc‐
cessful leadership from the Grace
Lee Boggs Center and other De‐
troit non‐profit and governmen‐
tal entities.
The Michigan Sea Grant spon‐
sored an Educational Boat Tour
of the Detroit River. The tour
demonstrated the environ‐
MALP Reunion
mental issues and opportunities
for the Detroit River and the
Great lakes Watershed.
After hearing, seeing and dis‐
cussing a variety of challenges
that face Detroit and the state,
the cohort settled into three
“issue teams” and their topics.
The topics are: Alternative En‐
ergy, Youth Leadership and Em‐
powerment, and Water Re‐
sources. The teams are excited
to get started on researching
these issues and preparing a
learning experience for the rest
of the cohort.
Upcoming Events
Emerging Leader Program
Watch the website for ap‐
plication dates for ELP 2012
Leadership Advancement
Program
Day of Agriculture—
August 20, 2011
Session VI‐Lansing‐
September 20‐22, 2011
2011 Alumni Event
Wednesday, September
21, 2011, 9 am‐3pm
Radisson, Lansing, MI
Legislative and Stake‐
holder Reception
Wednesday, Sept 21,
4:00‐5:30, Capitol Ro‐
tunda
Great Lakes Leadership Academy
109 Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824‐1039
517/ 432.8685 phone
517/ 353‐5406 fax
www.glla.msu.edu